As extremely high bandwidth access networks become more accessible to residential subscribers, they enable service providers of these networks to integrate voice, video, and data providing more convenience for end customers and creating new service opportunities. Due to the multi-service nature of these new services, networks need to support multiple simultaneous application sessions to a single subscriber. For instance, a subscriber may initiate a video session to watch a movie, establish a phone call to a called party, and sign on to an instant messaging session simultaneously.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus for supporting multiple active sessions on a per user basis in a packet network, e.g., a SoIP network.